freezing mice......humane question...well lots of

[Cazador]

Hemoglobin (Hb) transports O2 from the lungs to working tissues, including muscles, the brain, etc., and transports CO2 away from those tissues to the lungs to be exhaled. The reason Carbon Monoxide is so lethal is that its binding affinity for Hb is more than 200 times greater than O2's affinity for Hb. It doesn't become converted into CO2, it shuts down the O2/CO2 transport system. If your tissues can't get fresh O2, they can't make ATP (energy source); they die; and if the damage is widespread enough, or affects a critical system, that's it... you die!

CO also has another toxic mechanism of action. It's able to penetrate the outer layer of cells (lipid bilayer) and enter cells. Then it acts as a neurotransmitter and binds with the iron molecules in an enzyme (guanylyl cyclase) that regulates the second messenger cyclic GMP. cGMP then amplifies other processes to stimulate action within the cell. This is a natural process that is finely regulated in the brain and elsewhere. If, however, this pathway is activated inappropriately, and for too long, it can have serious consequences that depend on the degree of exposure.

Putting all this physiology aside, you've probably heard that CO is lethal because of people using it to kill themselves by breathing the exhaust of a running car in their garage. CO poisoning is also a major cause of death after people are "rescued" from burning buildings. They're given hyperbaric oxygen treatment to try to displace the CO from their Hb.

Sorry, but I don't know much about food processing, but I doubt CO would penetrate deeply into meat without a functional circulatory or neural system. Hope this helps,
Rick

[Stefan-A]

Thanks, just needed to get it cleared up.

I know I ask a lot of stupid questions, but I'd rather sound stupid and maybe learn something, than just stay ignorant.

[Cazador]

I don't think that at all, Stefan. Your questions (and statements) show a lot of intelligence and a level of curiosity that I respect. I think it will serve you well through school and life. Best regards,
Rick

[Stefan-A]

I should still know better. The funny thing is, we have gone through the CO issue before in school, even if it was a decade and a half ago.

[ClosedCasket88]

yeah a good baseball throw usualy works for pinkies . older mice i just hold by the tail and whack em and a table of somesort, soemtimes the tops of my cages , but occasional nose bleeds make things messy . i know of people who build throw boxes , all of a foot by a foot wide just to throw them into something to keep things a bit cleaner.

you think freezing and killing mice is bad you should see how hard it is to get baby chicks to die . theyl keep chirpin n runnin around no matter what , i always make sure i buy my chicks frozen, thats not a fun thing to deal with , poor little guys

[jewel-dragons]

i only feed pinky's alive... because i breed them...

[wisema2297]

I am new here but will share my experiences. CO2 will not kill new born mice. They have a reflex that keeps them from suffocating. I simply freeze them in an air tight bag. Since they have such a high surface to area ratio they freeze very fast (2-3 minutes). I know this sounds inhumane, but it's the only way i can think of to store hundreds at a time. I do not raise adult mice so I can't comment on storing them. I just raise pinkies for my corn snake hatchlings ( and hopefully my garter if I can convert him) and when I have enough stored I feed the adult mice to my adult corns.

[Cazador]

Welcome to the forum Ralph,
It's hard to beat first hand experience, so thanks for sharing. Also, thanks for adding your photo to the contest. It's truely one-of-a-kind!
Rick

[suzoo]

My husband says the quickest way to kill the adult mice is to put them in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, and put the garden hose in and fill it. Then walk away for 5 minutes. Have heard drownding is one of the easiest ways to go. And they freeze nicely afterwards.

[zirliz]

I'm pretty sure they ones I buy have had their noses crushed as there's dry blood seems cruel